Pre-clinical assessment of the effectiveness of modified polyvalent antivenom in the neutralization of Naja naja venom toxicity.

The potency of conventional antivenom (AV) conjugated to soy protein nanoparticles (NPs) (C-AV) was compared with the free AV in neutralizing the systemic toxicity of Naja naja venom. The effective dose (ED50 ) of AV and C-AV to neutralize the venom-induced toxicity in mice was found to be 19.89 and 9.50 mg, respectively. The histopathological examination of heart, liver, and kidney indicated that the systemic toxicity induced by the venom was effectively neutralized by lower concentrations of C-AV than compared with AV. In addition, C-AV was found to be more effective in neutralizing the edema forming activity of N. naja venom compared with the AV. Thus, the results of this study indicate that the potency of commercially available AV could be improved by conjugating it to soy protein NPs.